Star Trek: Parallel
by Captain Innes
Summary: A new adventure that begins with rescuing a warp 10 ship hijacked by terrorists within Starfleet, not to destroy it but to protect it and the Universe from an old yet still real and more powerful weapon. Please R&R I need feedback on anything!
1. Prologue

Prologue

**Prologue**

The ship streaked across open space to its destination near the forth moon of the forth planet in the star system located 1123b in the Tholians databank. The Tholians had no use for naming systems unlike the other creatures that inhabited this galaxy. The Tholian whose name was Kensleke scanned the system quickly to see if he had any followers after him. A beep from his console told him the area was clear, and Kensleke proceeded to his rendezvous site. Once there Kensleke scanned the system again and found two blips on his sensors that indicated they were also Tholian ships and orbiting around the fourth moon as well just on the other side. Kensleke punched in the right codes used to contact the ship and gave the appropriate greeting. The other two ships hailed back and adjusted their courses to match up with him. As the two ships approached Kensleke's ship another warp pattern emerged on his sensors telling him another ship was in the system. For a split nanosecond Kensleke panicked thinking he was found out. After a few seconds he saw the fourth ship come into view on his screen and recognized the shape as Tholian, but a different Tholian ship. Instead of the small triangular style craft, this one was in a shape of a rocket and three times the size. There were also distinctive markings on the side which showed it to belong to the 132nd battle group that had escaped from their galaxy when it went into war and stumbled upon this galaxy. All for ships emerged into one spot and began transmitting codes and messages to each other. Kensleke began transmitting his information and when requested, he downloaded the important research findings and components that would be used to construct a device; a device with two purposes, one to save the galaxy from genocide and destruction and the other to destroy the Federation! Kensleke was not at all grieved over the loss of what was to come. It had to be done and in life there was no bargaining with time. When your time came you paid the price it was that simple yet troublesome. Kensleke ended the transmissions and began an exit path that would take him out of orbit to engage the ships' warp engines. The Tholian did another thorough yet quick scan just to be certain they were all safe. After scanning and being satisfied with the results Kensleke powered up the ships' warp reactor and left the system to complete the rest of his objective and to usher in a new era of peace.

One by one as each ship left the system quietly they all did the exact thing, they scanned the area. And while this shows quick and strong thinking it didn't help them in the long run. Not for the cloaked ship hiding among the asteroids of the 2nd planet observing their meeting. They were able to; fortunately, intercept half of the transmissions sent but, unfortunately Tholian language is very complicated and difficult to translate so it would be sometime before the results were in. The Captain of the cloaked ship didn't bother to think deeply about it. She knew what her actions and orders were; save the galaxy and destroy the Tholian Holdfast, both objectives were connected and there was no escaping them. Satisfied they weren't detected the ship slowly turned and went to warp leaving the system empty once again.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Command Decisions

**Chapter 1: Command Decisions**

Captain Christopher Innes strode unto the bridge of his ship the U.S.S Tornado an old Lakota class Battle cruiser. First put into service to start replacing the old constitution class ships, this ship was one of the few still in service and being refitted. The excelsior class, as they were commonly known, saw a brief re insurgence during the conflicts with the Dominion over four years ago. They stripped all unnecessary equipment such as shields, sensor packages, probes and other scientific or miscellaneous systems and were then refitted with enhanced weapon and defensive systems. They were also equipped with Quantum torpedoes which only a few ships then carried. The armaments have been put on almost all new ships able to support them but all ships have the old photon torpedoes still installed. The quantum launchers have been replaced with cobalt and even Tri-Cobalt armaments that inflict even more serious damage. Since the end of the dominion war the Alpha and Beta quadrant powers have been able to come to a neutral cease fire while everybody sits back and lick's their wounds. Of all the space empires involved in the war, the Cardassian, Klingon and Breen were hit the hardest and calculations project it would be more than twenty years before either empire were economically, socially and militarily as stable as they were before. Out of all the problems, chaos, depression and death to come out of the war there were a lot of changes made. For one, the wormhole was now off limits to any race unless it was a scientific mission. This mission though had to be recorded and all the data recorded were to be given to each government for review. The Bajorans had finally been accepted into Starfleet and the Cardassians had also made a petition to join. With the destruction of millions of Cardassians during the last Dominion battle there are only about three hundred million left and their territory and planets in ashes. The Cardassians, though being a very arrogant and proud species, seemed to have learned their lesson about trusting outsiders and what ambition and greed can end up doing to you as a person and civilization. The UFP sent as many supply convoys and transports as they could space but the rebuilding process was developing slowly. Due to the rest and healing of the galaxy, the UFP have begun again trying to make warp ten and above possible. That was the purpose of now Christopher, to observe the test flights in the Bonneville flats in Federation space near the Romulan border where unfortunately the Tomed incident occurred one hundred years ago.

"Captain Innes we are receiving a communication from Captain Riker on the U.S.S Titan, shall I patch it through here sir?" Ensign Carry asked from his communication station. The young ensign was just assigned to the Tornado and having gone over his reports and information about his time at the academy, Christopher knew he was bright with a promising career.

"Put it on screen ensign, science, prepare sensor probe data retrieval and bring the sensor grid online as well." Christopher commanded to his bridge officers. They both acknowledged their orders and a few seconds after the image of Commander Riker appeared on his view screen.

"Commander the U.S.S Tornado is in position and ready to receive warp tests data." Christopher said as he walked in front of his command chair and placing his hands behind his back.

"Very good, the launch will commence within five minutes. Begin the countdown; I'll notify the other ships in the area and the U.S.S Universe Riker out." With that the transmission ended and the view screen was replaced again by the stars in the system. The launch clock was activated and it showed just less than five minutes to launch.

There were six other ships in the area all monitoring or retrieving the data and warp efficiency of the Universe class warp ten ship. Three nova class ships, one refitted Miranda class ship with more sensor pods and two Nebula class ships for patrol and guard duty in case the Romulans or any hostile species try to sabotage the test flight. There was no reason to expect any attack but since the Dominion war and Tomed Incident it was best to be cautious and having the test flight near the Romulan, Klingon border provided a chance for them to be involved in any test flight but could also cause paranoia and confusion with hostilities starting again. The Cardassians, who are in the process of joining Starfleet, were able to save the Galor and ship designs and Starfleet was in the process of building these ships with Starfleet standard systems and utilities. These new ships in Starfleet were now being refitted and with these new additions, Starfleet finally decided to decommission almost ninety percent of all remaining out dated ships such as Miranda's', Excelsior's', Ambassadors' and even some Nebula class ships.

"Sir ten seconds to warp test flight." Came the voice of another young crew member from a science console. Christopher turned to view the screen and saw the sleek universe class ship power its warp core and engage its warp engines. Christopher switched the screen back to the trajectory the ship would be taking.

"Sir the Universe has achieved warp 2…2.5…3…3.5…warp 5!" The young ensign was not only excited by talking fast but was showing too much emotion. While this would be a momentous occasion if it worked properly, there would be plenty of time to celebrate after.

"Keep your voice under control ensign, we need accurate readings." Christopher didn't at all mean to sound harsh and he hoped he wasn't developing a habit of it however critical situations sometimes call for drastic actions and words.

"The Universe is approaching the one quarter mark…all warp fields are stable and probes are not detecting any flux in the quantum singularity." The ops officer called out from his station. Christopher acknowledged the information and sat down in his command chair.

It was true; the Federation ship was using a quantum singularity or a scaled version of a small black hole powering its warp drive. The Romulans were able to upgrade their drives for more stability and power and so Starfleet traded them for a dozen of their old counterparts.

Christopher remained seating in his chair. While he was excited about being able to achieving warp 10 and then being able to equip starships with the new power to explore the rest of the galaxy, he was still bored having nothing to really do other than watch over the progress and hope for the best.

"Sir the Universe is approaching the one third mark, all probes and sensors are reading normal warp fields, they will be in our visual range in two minutes fifteen seconds."

Christopher acknowledged the comment and remained staring at the screen with all the visual readouts and data projected. It was very quiet on the bridge that when an alert alarm starting flashing it nearly made Christopher jump from his chair. He immediately got up and went over to the ops station located to his left. The ensign there was bringing up all the data and information about the warning.

"What's the problem?" Christopher asked mildly.

"Sir there appears to be a problem with the quantum singularity, it's becoming unstable quickly and a build up in temperature is imminent!" The ensign said quickly turning to look at Christopher.

"What is the cause of this sudden effect on the warp drive, like was this something that was overlooked?" Christopher quickly asked.

"No sir! All tests and reports came up perfectly fine, the only result of this is a large gravitational distortion such as a black hole or another strange anomaly or the fact that these quantum singularities are very old and unpredictable. Either way I don't think they can compensate for it, we must do something!" The ensign replied in almost a pleading way.

It was hard for Christopher and possibly even the rest of the crew that months of hard work and resources to be able to perfect a warp 10 vessel and that it was this close to being completed would end up in disaster.

"Signal the Universe, maybe they know of the problem, let's se if we can correct it, and transmit the data to Captain Riker, he may be able to do something." Christopher ordered, he walked back to the view screen waiting for the captain of the Universe to appear.

About a second after the view screen showing the data of the Universe ship and flight was replaced by an image of a female officer in the standard Starfleet uniform. Her brown hair was tied in a bun and she had brown eyes. She had a look of confusion and determination but she was also very frightened and nervous.

"Commander Christopher, our warp field is becoming unstable and the quantum singularity is building up energy which it will discharge in approximately under two minutes. If we don't stop it a massive explosion is going to occur destroying this system and possibly your ships," She said in a remarkably calm voice, so much so it kind of surprised Christopher and made him blink for a few seconds.

"Have you tried shutting down the power to the warp core?" Christopher asked, although most experienced captains, like the one he was talking to, always tried to do a cold shutdown. He almost couldn't believe someone not doing it and he figured it hadn't worked because it never ever did.

"Unfortunately the warp core is not responding to any of our commands or overrides but we are attempting to break free. It has damaged a lot of our relays and our helm is not responding and our shields have been activated. I'm beginning to evacuate the ship of all non-essential personnel. Other than a handful of engineers and myself the rest are evacuating." The Universe commander replied

"All right here's the best course of action," Christopher said clearly. "Continue working on the problem for as long as you can, if you can't fix it then make sure to get into an escape pod. This seems to be the best solution."

"What will you guys be doing?" She asked again a little bit afraid this time but still remaining determined, he figured she wanted to make that Starfleet hadn't given them new orders to abandon the project like what happened again during the Tomed Incident that wreaked havoc for all of the major star empires at that time.

"We'll be coming after you." He replied and signaled his commander to end the transmission. He went and sat in his chair and straightened out his hair to make sure it still looked presentable.

"All hands; red alert, it's going to get bumpy!" He commanded and immediately saying that, the bridge was arrayed in red pulsating lights and the computer warning that signaled a condition red began wailing over the speakers.

"Helm plot us a parallel course to match the Universe ship and engage maximum warp when ready." Christopher ordered and immediately the helms officer complied by pushing the buttons on the console and ship lurched forward as the stars began to streak forward faster and faster flying endlessly through space and time. Christopher hoped he would be able to assist the crew left on the Universe. If worst came to worst he would have to do one of two things, one; destroy the prototype ship with the remaining crew, or two, discontinue the rescue and allow the crew to be killed, either choice would be difficult to proceed with but regulations dictate that a Starfleet captain cannot let feelings or personal regrets get in the way of making valuable and costly command decisions and Christopher would not start doubting that.

"Sir the Universe ship will be approaching us in twenty seconds!" The ops officer stated.

"Reroute all available power to the warp engines, helm what's our speed now?" Christopher inquired to the helm officer seated in front of him and looking at the visual screen ahead.

"Our speed is warp 9.5 sir!" She responded back.

"Can we push for warp 9.7 or above?" Christopher asked again.

"We can but not for too long as the stress and pressure will start to decrease our structural integrity, and I'm sure you know the consequences of that sir!" She replied and while that was not to be taken as an offensive statement, it did raise eyebrow on Christopher's face.

"Push for warp 9.7 then…I do know of the consequences." Christopher replied back again.

"Sir the Universe is coming alongside us!" The ops officer sounded. Christopher turned to the communication station and signaled ensign Molek to patch him through to the Universe captain.

"Captain what is your situation as of this second?" Christopher bluntly asked. He needed to know, he needed to save, that was all there was to it, no matter what happened after, no matter what the circumstances, cause or effect Christopher would blame himself.

"Captain we have been able to effectively stop the unstable element in our warp core and we are flying at warp 10 smoothly, however our shields are still up and the braking system has frozen up and we are unable to stop or maneuver and we are currently drifting of course." She replied quickly. This was something totally different to Christopher now.

"Mr. Syer can we effectively lock on to the ship with a tractor beam and pull them out of warp with us?" Christopher asked his chief tactical officer located to the right and behind of where Christopher was standing.

"No the stress of the two ships in warp and then suddenly stopping would pull both ships apart and could destroy either or both of us. Tractor beams are not effective in high warp or high maneuver situations." He responded disappointingly. Christopher didn't think the plan would work either but a few minutes ago he thought that nothing could go wrong in this test flight and now it has.

"If they continue on their present course and speed where will the ship head into?" Christopher asked the bridge personal. He wasn't sure which station could provide the answer but he didn't care just as long as he received an accurate answer.

"They will continue past our borders heading deep into Romulan territory, and if they survive that sir, they will end up past the Romulans into Gorn territory and from there our star charts are fragmented so they could continue on until they hit a gravitational body like a moon or star, or if they are shot down." Came the reply from ensign Molek at the helm station. Her crisp response and cool manner to the tense situation seemed to calm Christopher's nerves a bit but his anxiety was still there. He started to rub his temples trying to get rid of the headache developing and from the stress to impair his decisions and thinking. The only other option left that would save the crew of the U.S.S Universe was something Christopher dare not try but if they didn't get the ship out of warp or the people to safety then a lot of experienced and young officers were going to get killed and Christopher didn't know if he could live the rest of his life with that on his conscience.

"Sir the Universe vessel is beginning to pass us; shall I increase speed to compensate?" Ensign Molek asked in a professional manner.

"Not yet." Came the reply, and then thinking quickly, "How long before the ship enters the Romulan neutral zone?"

"Approximately thirty minutes, and then another fifteen minutes until they cross the Romulan border, and from there unknown." Came the quick response from somewhere on the bridge. Christopher was too distracted by what he had to do that he didn't really care who said it.

"Signal the two Nebula class ships and tell them of our current situation, problem and then send them data gathered by us and the probes for our test flight. And tell them to contact any Romulan ship or station and tell them of the situation. I only pray the Romulans understand." Christopher ordered although his last sentence was mostly a rhetorical statement. It still didn't help the situation whether the Romulans did understand or not. The ship would keep flying through space at such a high warp that any impact with a sun could cause a major explosion and tear in subspace and the consequences of that would be astronomical. They couldn't wait any longer, whether Starfleet approved or not Christopher was now in command of the situation and this situation needed drastic action and it was time Christopher stepped up to it.

"Lieutenant Syer!" Christopher called out turning to face him. This time Christopher put on a determined look and spoke with authority that it scared himself a little. But this was his decision and he, a Starfleet officer and captain of a space going vessel, needed to make sure that he stuck with his decision good or bad. Unfortunately what was to come out of his mouth was one of the hardest things he could say let alone order a Starfleet officer to do. He could very easily get court-martialed and expelled and that was if he succeeded, if he failed the consequences tremendous not only for his ship, crew, Starfleet or the Federation but for the rest of the Alpha Quadrant.

"Lock weapons onto the Universe and shoot to disable their warp drive." He said aloud. The rest of the bridge crew all turned around from what they were doing and looked up at him with expressions of shock and confusion. All except Molek still flying the ship and looking ahead. She seemed to be minding her own business or going about her task almost as if she expected Christopher to do what he did.

"Aye sir!?" Came the reply of his tactical officer who responded to the question with disbelief. But turned around and began a lock on the ship. The rest of the bridge crew turned back around and continued their ship monitoring and systems. _This is it now _thought Christopher, _no turning back from this point._

"Target locked sir, awaiting your command to fire." Came the reply again and Christopher knew his tactical officer did this to make sure Christopher really thought about what he was doing. While Christopher valued what he was trying to do, he realized that this was his decision now and he would stick with it.

He was just about to give the command to fire when an alert siren went off at the tactical station. It wasn't a red alert wail or even yellow alert siren that usually went off but it was another signal that chirped a quick beep. This signal was different in that it was a warning that some type of ship or ships had entered their long-range sensors. Fortunately it was a distraction Christopher didn't mind having.

"What's the problem Mr. Syer?" Christopher asked politely.

"Sir I don't understand but three Klingon Birds of Prey have just uncloaked directly in front of us and are arming their forward torpedo launchers…Sir they're firing at us!" Came the quick and frightened reply. Before Christopher could comprehend what was just said and before he could even give another command the bridge was rocked violently and everybody was thrown off their chairs and knocked to the ground. Sparks and explosions rippled throughout the ship and some computer consoles exploded sending debris and glass onto the floor. Most of the bridge crew tried to cover their heads with their hands to protect them from all the debris.

"Ensign Molek, go to evasive maneuvers but keep us on a parallel course with the

Universe, don't lose them!" Christopher quickly said as he was staggering back up. When no reply of confirmation came, Christopher first noticed the fact that the helm controls were all burnt and smoke was billowing out from it. Where Ensign Allison Molek was supposed to be sitting, the chair was knocked over and her body lay sprawled out over the floor with visible burnt marks and gashes along her body and face. Her eyes were closed and some blood was trickling down the side of her face and nose. Her uniform was torn and smeared with black soot. Christopher didn't need a medic to know she was already dead. Christopher motioned to a bridge officer to alert the medical teams to retrieve the body; he also motioned to another officer to replace the dead helmsmen. The other officer picked up the chair and began trying to rework at the controls.

"Sir our shields are down to eighty percent!" Came the reply of Mr. Syer at the tactical station.

"Hail the Klingons immediately!" Christopher said angrily. He had to get to this bottom of this. The Klingons had attacked without provocation and without reason. The Federation and Klingon Empire were at peace with each other and there were no hostilities being shown, nor any threats, so why the sudden attack?

"No response from our hails, it looks like their ignoring us," Came a quick reply.

"Sir our warp core is fluctuating, if we don't drop out of warp we risk destroying our ship!" An engineering officer said at a computer panel behind Christopher. That was the last thing Chris needed to hear at this point. If they dropped out of warp then the U.S.S Universe would continue to travel through hostile space with no way of shutting down their engines and no way of contacting them. This was not a hard decision for Christopher to make mentally or logically, as the needs of the many out weight the needs of the few, but it was the most distressing one for his conscience.

"Drop out of warp and reinforce our shields." Christopher commanded. Immediately he could feel the hum of the warp engines die down and on the view screen, the once flying stars and colours dimmed down to just white specs spread across a black canvas.

"Sir, the Klingons are decloaking again, bearing 457.4!" Came a response from tactical.

"Fire phasers, full rotational axis, and maximum power!" Christopher ordered. He heard a few buttons being pressed and the ships phaser emitters releasing their beamed light energy. Christopher recorded about six shots fired and looking out of the visual display as he saw the three enemy vessels swoop past in a perfect 'V' formation.

"Keep hitting them, target their engines!" Christopher said again. The enemy ships began turning around again to swoop by, but the phaser fire from the Tornado kept them veering around until their warp nacelles emitted a bright flash and the three ships sped off into the distance.

"Sir they've just warped out of the system, heading back into Klingon territory." The ops officer announced. Christopher again looked out at the visual display and pursed his lips. The Klingons never ran away or retreated from a battle, even if they were going to lose, their whole culture and way of life was based on honor and courage. Retreating from any battle was almost sacrilegious and worse it would bring shame on them and their family house for a very long time.

"Sir another ship has just entered our sensor range, it's the U.S.S Titan; they're hailing," Said the communications officer looking up from his display panel. Christopher acknowledged his statement and went to the visual display, again, and waited for the image of William Riker to appear.

"Captain Christopher, what is your ships condition?" Captain Riker asked in a commanding tone that showed a bit of annoyance. Christopher looked around the bridge before adding:

"Our shields are holding and are warp core is stable for now. We took a heavy hit in the attack that crippled us more than it should due do us warping faster than safety protocols allowed. We have one dead and a few more wounded sir." Christopher replied back in the same commanding tone.

"Alright, the U.S.S Titan and Tornado are to head back to Earth immediately, the other three Nova class ships are to finish with the test data and stay in this sector, and the two Nebula ships will remain on guard duty. We've been ordered back to base to assess the situation and come up with a rescue strategy." Riker said again. He wasn't talking in any conversational tone and Christopher knew he meant business.

"Aye sir, the Tornado will be following you back. Our warp core has sustained some damage. We estimate anything over warp 6 is dangerous." Christopher replied back stating the situation to his commanding officer.

"All right we'll go to warp 4 just to be safe, that means we'll get back to Earth in two hours, this is the U.S.S Titan out." Came the reply again from Captain Riker. He then ended the transmission and the screen was cut off showing the star field again.

"Helmsmen set a course for home warp 4." Christopher ordered. He again could hear the hum of the warp field and the ship jumped in to faster than light speed. Christopher breathed a sigh of relief but still felt guilty about what had transpired here at the Bonneville Flats testing ground.

"Mr. Syer we can stand down from red alert now. I'll be in my quarters if you need me, please send all damage reports, casualty lists and repair team assignments to my room's computer. You have the bridge." With that Christopher walked over to the turbo lift shaft located behind the bridge. He then entered and voiced his destination to the computer and the doors closed propelling the starship captain to his destination as ordered.

Joseph Syer complied with his Captains wishes and stood up from his station and walked over to the command chair. It was going to be a very boring flight home.

As the ships warped away, the cloaked ship, again, hiding in the neutral zone with its captain, was fortunate it was not detected. The Captain again was most pleased with her crew's effort. She ordered the data from the probes and other ships in the area to be hacked in to and downloaded to their ships memory banks. She then ordered her crew to disembark from their current location and to plot a course to where the U.S.S Universe would end up. If her extrapolations were correct and with the galaxy at stake, she needed to make sure she was ahead by at least one step. Quietly the ship turned around and entered back into warp flying again through time and space.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Far Across the Heavens

**Chapter 2: Far Across the Heavens**

Her stern face and posture made it seem like more of a threat than any reassurance Commander Azura was expecting from this Romulan Star base Commander. Having realized there was no way to stop the warp 10 vessel from crossing the Romulan border in time, Commander Azura began transmitting messages and warnings to any Romulan ship or signal they could get a lock on. Fortunately they did reply and fortunately they were granted "permission" to enter their borders. _How can you stand their in a straight face and say permission to a warp ten vessel from entering your borders, acting as if this isn't an emergency but some special request that they don't hand out to everybody_ Kathleen thought standing their at her visual screen looking at a Romulan Star base Commander, wearing a military uniform indicating her rank and position with a few other medallions pinned to her tunic.

"As well _Captain_ Azura," The Romulan replied harshly in a manner that sounded like she was questioning whether Kathleen was a real captain or just some position she promoted on herself. "You are under orders to inform us the moment you are able to re-establish proper control over your vessel so that we may escort you back to Federation space. If we find out that you have established control and do not notify for longer than fifteen minutes we will consider you hostile and destroy you. Do you understand?" She asked harshly.

"Perfectly, but I promise you it won't come to that." Captain Azura replied back in a more friendly tone adding in a smile hoping to at least end the transmission on good terms. When the Romulan female ended the transmission, Kate, as she preferred to be called, slumped down into her command chair and took a deep breath in. She then took a brief glance at her bridge and saw her crew working diligently trying to fix their problem. Her helmsmen and an engineer were busy at the navigation console in front of her doing system checks and replacing components and re installing them. Her security chief stationed behind her and to her right was doing routine system checks and just minding his own business, and there was another engineer on the bridge working at some auxiliary controls located to the very left of Azura. It occurred to her that even though she was captain of this vessel and that her command decisions reflected on her ability to deal with this situation, she had nothing to do at the time right now. All of her remaining g crew on the ship had tasks assigned to them except for her.

"I'll be in my ready room lieutenant you have the bridge, if you need anything or anything comes up let me know immediately," Kate said standing up and looking at her tactical officer, who in this case was also her first officer and most trusted friend. The lieutenant looked up and gave a quick nod and smile telling her he understood and accepted her orders. With that she straightened out her uniform and walked over to a door at the front right side of the bridge that led to her ready room; a small office type room where the captain would meet with her staff to discuss matters or to act as a private meeting conference or office.

Once inside, Kate went over to her replicator and replicated something to drink, water, nothing fancy but she was in need to quench her thirst. She then sat down and picked up some computer pads and began reviewing them. Nothing extremely important to go over until she came to the tactical data analyzed from the battle the U.S.S Tornado was thrown into by the Klingon Birds of Prey. After the ship dropped out of warp to protect the U.S.S Universe, they lost sensor data but were able to get enough of the battle and ships to mark and designate them.

"Computer, display information regarding the three Klingon ships we encountered and their history and combat background" She asked out loud to the starship computer.

_Cannot comply with request, no Klingon ships have been recorded with those designations. _ The female computer voice said.

"That's very odd," Kate said out loud to the computer, then thinking quickly, "Computer how recent is Starfleet's intelligence on Klingon ships and designations preferably Bird of Prey class ships?" She asked again. She didn't know where this was going to lead to. Even if the ships were not recognized by the computer it didn't mean anything unusual. The Klingon Empire had been rebuilding its ships lost to the Dominion for some time now, and there were many ships that Starfleet Intelligence didn't know exist due to hidden military operations and cover ups.

_The last time Intelligence gathered information was two months ago. All necessary changes were already added to the ships computer banks, would you like to see it on your screen? _The computer said politely.

"No that's all right," She replied. Kate then picked up her cup of water and took a few sips of it. She put the glass down on the table and glanced at another computer pad showing the images of the Klingon ships decloaking and firing on the U.S.S Tornado. She took a closer look at the Klingon ships and realized something about their formation and type of projectile launched from the ships.

"Computer, identify the formation the Klingon ships are flying in and identify the type of weapons on their ships." Kathleen ordered. She didn't have to wait any longer than two seconds as the computer processed the request thousands of times faster and then retrieved the answer even faster projecting it in a form that humans could understand and comprehend.

_The type of formation is a standard formation used by the Cardassian Union when engaging Federation ships._

_Cardassian! What _would_ Klingons be doing using a Cardassian strategy that wouldn't work effectively given the specifications of each ship?_ She thought to herself; there was no logical explanation, unless the Klingons were able to perfect the strategy, but that doesn't explain the attack on the U.S.S Universe and why the ships fled after.

"And the weapons used?" She asked again to the computer.

_All weapons fired from the Klingons were disrupter type pulses of Klingon origin, the torpedoes fired were standard Klingon make, and do you want the specifications of them displayed? _The computer asked in its female voice.

"No," Kate said. She didn't bother saying thank you due to the fact that computers didn't have any feelings or emotions and whether or not she said the word; it wouldn't have made a difference.

Kathleen stood up and walked around her room her mind still racing over what she had discovered about the events of the day. She kept pacing back and forth in front of her think glass window which protected her from the cold elements of space on the other side. Or was it the other way around? Maybe it was to protect space from the cold elements of humans and the cold wars fought. _I wonder if people can become as cold as space. _Kate thought, but that thought didn't last long as she pushed everything else from her mind except the task at hand and what needed to be done to save her ship and crew. She stopped herself from starting to pace again, which was a nasty habit she was beginning to develop in the private compounds of her room. She was about to head back out onto the bridge when a chirp from her com badge told her someone was trying to contact her. She immediately responded by tapping on the badge worn by all Starfleet officers.

"This is the Captain," she stated.

"Captain this is Monroe," Stated Kathleen's chief engineer. His full name was Jason Monroe and he was a dedicated individual who has served on the U.S.S Universe for four years. Fresh from Starfleet academy, he was at the top of his class with the awards and recommendations to prove it. The only major concern was lack of experience and he was most competitive and a little on the cocky side but that quickly changed for the better over the course of his four years on this ship. The crew warmed up to him and his sense of humor and outlook on life quite quickly and was almost always at the center f the mess hall when off duty telling the latest jokes and funny stories to impress his fellow shipmates.

"I'm in a Jefferies tube along one of the nacelles and was doing a scan of the systems here when I picked up an unusual reading. I went to investigate and have stumbled upon a major problem that I would like you to see immediately," He stated coolly. Kate could hear the hum of the engines and the noise of the nacelle being fed power in the background over the communication signal but it wasn't enough of a distraction for her.

"Could you be more specific Jason? What problem are you talking about?" She asked back, almost annoyed he didn't just state the problem, she hated guessing games and this was almost like that.

"Captain, can I ask if you on a secure channel?" He asked again and this made the Captain frown for a minute. But she went over to her computer and pressed and few buttons allowing her to be able to talk to Jason without any tampering or listening devices activated.

"I am now Jason, what's going on?" She asked again with a hint of annoyance. What ever it was this was taking longer than she planned for.

"Captain, I was looking at the wiring and cables for the nacelle drive and power, the braking system on both nacelles have been deactivated and the wires cut clean, no burn outs or faulty installation, just cut clean which leads me to assume…"

"Sabotage!" Kate said quickly finishing the sentence for Jason.

"Exactly," he said in return. "I wanted to notify you immediately but I wanted to make sure this was a secure line first."

"I understand Jason, good job. Just stay where you are I'll meet you down there in a few minutes." Kate responded as she got up and started walking over to the door to lead out of her ready-room. Once passed the automatic door, Kate stepped out onto the bridge again. Nothing was completely different but one of the bridge officers had changed location and was now working at the auxiliary science station located to the far left of the bridge. Kathleen walked over to her security chief once again and told him she was to check on the progress of the engineers in the engineering room. She didn't mention anything about the conversation she had with Jason because of safety and security reasons.

"You have the bridge again; if the Romulans contact us, update them on the situation." She ordered standing to his side.

"Yes ma'am," he replied looking up from his controls and giving her a warm smile.

With that she turned and entered the turbo lift and as the doors closed Kate led out a sigh of relief and slumped against the wall thinking about what was transpiring on the ship and around them. Unfortunately the ship wasn't big enough so the turbo lift ride was short. When the elevator stopped, Kate straightened up and proceeded to walk out moving in a dignified and somewhat graceful pattern. She walked to the nearest junction and turned left and then walked past the main double sealed and triple reinforced doors and into the main hallway of engineering. In front of her humming softly and standing three levels high was quantum singularity drive. While much different then the normal warp cores used on Federation ships, the quantum Singularity drives are much more powerful and efficient but also much more dangerous and unpredictable.

Kathleen found Jason bending over a computer console typing in data and scanning certain objects with his tricorder. Sitting on the console was a small device that Jason kept scanning and occasionally glancing at.

"Report Mr. Monroe?" Kate Azura asked closing the last few meters between her chief engineer and herself.

"Captain I've been analyzing the braking system and running tests and scans on the device itself and the computer agrees that the only explanation for its failure is sabotage. Someone here has sabotaged our flight plan to achieve warp ten." He said standing up in the proper custom when addressing military officers who are of higher rank. Kate looked at Jason and then at the device still sitting on the panel.

"Who would have knowledge to do this and why?" She asked although her last question was more of a rhetorical one but Jason still tried his best to sound reassuring.

"The only people on this ship capable of doing something like that and overriding the warning codes would be either of the engineers left on this ship, but I assure you I didn't do it and I too would like to know why." He replied. He looked very sympathetic and Kate could tell just by looking in his eyes he was telling the truth.

"Where are your engineers now?" Kate asked turning to look at the engineering computer station.

"I sent Corby to the bridge to assist reinstalling the helm components and to try a back-up reboot system. As for the other two, they were sent further below decks to see if they could eject the quantum singularity drive and or shutoff the shields that have been activated." He replied turning to look at the same computer screen his captain was studying. The computer screen was a side cutaway view of each of the fifteen decks on the ship and where most of the ships main functions and equipment was located.

"Right here and obviously here on the bridge" Jason pointed with his finger to the two spots he assigned his engineers.

"Is there anything you've noticed about any of them that might give away who they are or any strange behaviors you've noticed?" She asked looking up at him.

"Nothing out of the ordinary but one or all are involved." Jason replied scratching the back of his head and running his hands through his blonde hair.

Before Kathleen could give another response, the power grid throughout the ship flickered and the lights began flickering on or off. Jason and Kate both looked up at the ceiling before finally the main lights went off. They stood there for a few seconds in pitch blackness before the emergency back up lights flickered on.

"What was that?" Kathleen asked Jason who was already calling up data at the computer console.

"The main power grid has been taken offline. Everything except shields, engines, life support and communication are still online, everything else has shutdown." Jason said analyzing the data that was being shown on the displays. "It looks like the main power grid was taken offline on the bridge, that's where the command code was inputted."

"Captain Azura to Lieutenant Rae, please respond!" Kate said as she tapped her communication badge. She waited a few seconds but no answer. Jason had an idea of what had happened.

"We need to get to the bridge." Kate exclaimed as she walked over to a built in shelf unit and retrieved two phasers from the holsters provided. She handed one to Jason and began setting the phaser.

"Set for heavy stun, we don't want to kill them unless absolutely necessary." She said as she adjusted the power unit on the phaser, she then holstered it to her waist and picked up a tricorder and attached it to the opposite side of her phaser.

"Yes ma'am," Replied Jason doing the same thing, except he held his phaser out, just to be sure they didn't get snuck up on.

"I don't think entering the bridge through the turbo lifts is a wise idea, incase their booby trapped or waiting for us, and Jeffery tubes would be blocked as well" Jason said as they walked out of the engineering station and into the main hallways and junctions. They weren't running but were walking at a steady pace with long strides.

"Then our best way to retake the ship is to take the Jefferies tube up to my ready room and then from their, enter the bridge." The Captain said as they came to a junction and turned right.

"Won't they lock that section down?" Jason asked politely all the while keeping his gaze in front and occasionally looking over his shoulder.

"It's our best and only option unfortunately. We can't transport for fear of a dampening shield activated and without internal sensors we don't even know how many people have turned against us or are still alive." She put simply. They rounded another corner and opened a hatch attached to the wall. Kate bent over and proceeded to enter the tube. Jason was about to follow when a sudden beam of light struck the top of the hatch causing sparks to fly. Jason jumped out of the way just in time as another phaser blast skimmed right past his left ear causing his hair to start to tingle. Fortunately the attacker didn't see Kathleen as she jumped out of the hatch did a roll on the floor and came up on one knee with her phaser at her attacker's direction. She didn't hesitate and pulled the trigger sending another stream of light back at their attacker. The beam of light struck the engineer in the chest and knocked him down. Kathleen stood up, wiped the sweat from her forehead, adjusted her phaser to kill and shot the stunned attacker on the floor.

"I'm sorry but it was necessary," she said turning to help Jason back on his feet from his fall. "If he was allowed to alert the remaining officers, we would not be able to survive." She explained.

"I understand." Was all Jason said as he looked at the body lying on the ground with a burnt hole in the stomach.

"All right, I've had a change of plan" Kate said looking at Jason. "I'll head to the bridge like planned, but I want you to go down to the auxiliary life support station and activate the controls to fill the air with any knockout gases you can find. If all goes well we should be able to retake the ship that way." She finished.

"Should we not contact the Romulans of our situation?" Jason asked her. He was trying to provide her with any help he could give her due to the weightiness of the situation.

"No contacting the Romulans is a danger to us. We're almost out of their territory anyway and if we told them we had saboteurs on board, they may deem us a threat and then start to open fire. As well we don't know who these traitors might be working for. It seems this is our best course of action." She replied.

"All right, I'll contact you when I'm about to release the gases." Jason said as he began walking in the direction of the life support station.

"Oh and Jason," Kate quickly said turning around. "Be careful" She added when she got his attention.

"I will," Was all Jason said as he continued walking...

…Kathleen continued watching him until he went out of sight. She then turned and began walking towards the bridge. Her mind racing with a million thoughts of what could happen if they failed or if they succeeded. She rounded a corner and then another feet moving beneath the floor, Kathleen began jogging. It wasn't a big ship but she wanted to quickly end this before she collapsed from stress. She came to the turbo lift that would bring her up a deck and almost walked in when she realized the turbo lift doors were opening already and standing there with a phaser rifle in his arm was one of Kate's former crew member gone rogue.

"Drop your weapon and put your hands where I can see them" He barked, stepping off the turbo lift all the while with his weapon still leveled at Kate's chest.

"You won't get away with this!" Kate angrily said as she dropped the weapon. I don't know who you really are but I do know that the Federation will come looking for us.

"I certainly hope so, but unfortunately there is a bigger plot going on then just hijacking a starship. But I assure you we are on the same side." He replied smiling.

"It doesn't look like it from my perspective. Hijacking my ship, killing my crew, threatening me and now you expect me to believe you, you're on our side whatever that side is. What do you really want?" She commanded all the while eying the phaser rifle pointed at her. _If I could just distract some more, I may be able to catch him off guard._ She thought.

"Yes it looks terrible from your end, but all these things are necessary. I don't have time to explain and I would like too but we need your help and the only way we can guarantee it is if triggers are put in motion so that you have no way but to act and help us." He responded.

"I still don't understand, but I promise, if you give me command of my ship I will try to help you as much as possible." Kate tried to negotiate. It wasn't all true, she did want control of her ship back and she would listen to their story but she had no intent of helping them. _The only help I'll give them is helping them to the nearest airlock_ she thought.

"I'm sorry but I don't trust you and like I said there is no time, now please move along" The rebel said motioning with his rifle for Captain Azura to start walking.

"Take me to the brig, once there, you'll join the rest of your crew and remain on the rest of your flight." He said walking behind her and talking, all the while keeping his weapon level at Kathleen.

"What will happen then?" She asked concerned about the safety of the ship and crew.

"I'm not too sure, our projections tell us you will keep flying but I'm not sure for how long or where. Our best estimations put you somewhere past Gorn space but from there we don't have any accurate readings." He said.

"So you don't care about what happens to our lives or our ship, how kind." She said sarcastically.

"Oh please Captain, do you really expect me to believe you would care of our situation if I told you. I know you, after all I have served with you and I know the human mind well. You wouldn't care about us just as much as we don't care about what happens to you. The ship is a different story." He replied not showing any emotion. They rounded another corner and entered into a room that was designated as Brig 1. The room was fairly big with a carpet and standard Federation colours and patterns on the walls and ceiling. Standing behind a computer stand was another of the engineering members who betrayed Kathleen.

"Into the cell, you'll join the rest of your crew for the remainder of your journey." Her guard said pushing her in. She walked into the room that held her security officer and Jason who was also captured. They stood up when they saw her and their expressions on their faces were grim and sad. Once inside, they reactivated the force field and her captor walked over to where they were imprisoned and finally lowered his rifle.

"I'm sorry it had to come to this. If it means anything, I'm sorry and I hope you do survive or come out of this safely. To help you I've replicated a week's supply of rations." He said.

With that, he and his companion reactivated the force field keeping them locked up and walked out of the room leaving Kate, Jason and lieutenant Pond alone.

"What should we do now?" Jason asked standing up and walking toward the active force field that prohibited them from escaping.

"It appears the only thing we can do at this time is wait, wait and hope Starfleet is able to rescue us." Lieutenant Pond responded calmly.

"Unfortunately Mr. Pond," Kate said resting the back of her head against the cold wall and looking up, "that's the hardest thing to do right now." With that she closed her eyes and did exactly that; waited.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: A Tall Ship, a Star to Sail Her

**Chapter 3: A Tall Ship, a Star to Sail Her**

Christopher once again stood looking out of the pane of glass to the stars and space beyond where he was. This time though it wasn't empty space, but then again if it's not empty it's not space, the shuttlecraft Christopher was on was navigating along the routes in between earth and the moon. The shuttlecraft was making its ascent to the star base located orbiting earth where the shuttle would dock inside and where Christopher would be given his new ship and new mission, with what he hoped would also be his same crew. It had been a week since the warp ten flight by the Universe had failed, propelling the ship through hostile space unable to change course or speed. Fortunately the Romulans understood the situation and allowed the ship to pass through unharmed. Recent reports from Starfleet Intelligence have said that the Gorn Confederation, located past Romulan space, have also allowed the Universe warp ship to pass through. While the Gorn are a reptilian species that dislikes warm blooded creatures, due to their treachery and dishonesty; they have been the friendliest and most beneficial the ally the Federation has made. As a compensation for any problems the Universe ship could cause, Starfleet promised that when the warp ten engines were perfected, the Gorn would be the first to receive the technology and data, an offer the Gorn accepted in sincere thanks. Christopher knew his mission was to go after the lost ship and do one of many things. The first was to find the ship, carrying sensitive equipment and personal which the Federation could not afford for any rival empire to get their hands on. If the ship is found and is still salvageable, Christopher was to retrieve it and bring it back. If the ship isn't salvageable, his mission was to at least save the crew and parts necessary to take and then destroy the evidence of the warp ten ship. If worse came to worse and it was captured then Christopher and his ship were to pursue and destroy the ship so as to not allow it to fall into enemy hands. Quite a mission Christopher was to undertake, he only hoped his new ship would be adequately suited for the task at hand.

Christopher brought his thoughts back to where he was and realized the shuttle craft he was on had changed course and was now speeding away from the star base Christopher thought he was going to.

"Ensign, why are we heading away from the star base, and why are the warp engines activated?" Christopher asked approaching the ensign seated at he helm in front. Christopher didn't know his name but immediately recognized the pips on the uniform that displayed his rank.

"Sorry sir, but I just received new orders to take you to Alpha Centuri to meet with some top brass. The orders just came through now actually and your old orders have been dismissed." The young officer said apologetically turning his seat to look at him. Christopher remained staring out the view screen and didn't once show any flinching of turning his head to meet the gaze of the ensign.

"Who authorized these new orders?" Christopher asked carefully.

"Admiral Janeway sir and she is looking forward to meeting you as well." The ensign replied. Christopher was surprised and now concerned about his mission. After returning from the Delta Quadrant the starship Voyager and her captain, Katelyn Janeway, she was immediately promoted to Admiral and was given assignments and duties of Federation security and of vital importance. Starfleet used her to convey confidential messages and assignments that Starfleet could not publicly mention or assign. _Something big is going on, and this will not help me in the least_ Christopher thought to himself. The hum of the warp engines and the flash of stars made Christopher start getting butterfly in his stomach and he felt very nervous.

He took a seat next to the young ensign and just stared out the view screen, his mind wandering back to the days at Starfleet Academy where every young persons dream was commanding a starship and setting off into the unknown. _All I ask is a tall ship and a star to sail her by_ Christopher thought to himself. It was a much known poem and on each dedication plaque the ship received those very lines were inscribed to show the famous line by John Masefield.

"Coming out of warp sir, we've arrived at Alpha Centuri" The ensign replied as he shut down the warp engines and the stars stood still once again. The ship came out of warp and Christopher noticed the beautiful planet that was home to over two billion humans and also the main engineering research base for Starfleet. Christopher could also see the small sensor and transport station orbiting around the planet with a few small shuttlecrafts and convoy ships either docked with it or orbiting around it. Near the orbiting station were four small dry docks that had a ship in each one. It was too hard to make out any of the ships from this distance but the one at the very end caught Christopher's interest. From what he could see it was a big ship, much bigger than a Galaxy class or even D'Dredix class Romulan Warbird.

"What is that ship on the end, there?" Christopher asked the ensign.

"I'm not sure sir; I know the ship is new and that Starfleet has been trying to keep it confidential. I was thinking you would know though because I'm ordered to dock with the ship, your ship," He said in a confused tone.

Christopher remained silent the rest of the journey to the ship. He couldn't understand what he was doing in command of a ship this size. _I know I'm a good commander and I know how to lead people but this looks like something only Admirals would be allowed to command._ Christopher again thought. He took a look again at the ship as the Shuttle circled around it until it came to a service door and attached itself to it. The door chimed and a green light appeared above the door to signal that the shuttle had docked successfully and that there was proper atmosphere to breathe. The door opened and on the other side Admiral Janeway emerged and stepped up into the ship. Both Christopher and the ensign, stood up at attention with their shoulders straight, head looking forward and hand behinds their back.

"As you were gentlemen," she said as she moved closer; then directing her comment to the ensign, "you may start the shuttlecraft again and proceed to circle the ship at your leisure. I need to explain a few things to Captain Innes."

"Aye Ma'am!" The ensign said as he sat back down and proceeded to start the engines up again and follow the Admiral's orders.

"Captain Christopher I know this is a surprise for you, but Starfleet feels that you are the best Captain to handle the situation we are going to put you in. We need you to recover the missing warp 10 ship. We need you to find it, and if salvageable, bring it back. The situation is grim out there. Starfleet has lost all communication with the Klingon Empire, Cardassian union and a few smaller races. We don't know why and the sudden attack on you by the Klingons is troubling. There have been skirmishes taking place all over the neutral zone and we've had to re analyze our border security defenses. Most ships have been re-assigned and we are starting to evacuate all non-Starfleet personal to better safety."

"I understand this entirely Admiral, but why this ship?" Christopher asked gesturing with his arm to the ship they were circling.

"Unfortunately Starfleet hasn't been able to accurately extrapolate where the Universe ship will end up. The furthest we can come to a point is a section of space very out of date to us. It is past Gorn space and is a section called the WYN clusters. The latest records of this section dates back to the General War fought before Kirk's era. It's a region of space that has stars producing very high gravity distortions, and a highly dangerous radiation bubble that traps ships inside of it. Two old space faring races the Mirak and the Lyrans both entered the region and were able to figure out a way to protect their ships but we have lost all contact with them." The admiral explained.

"So basically the ship is somewhere in that area and your not sure what's out there." Christopher said folding his arms together.

"Yes you are correct. Hence the reason why Starfleet has developed this type of ship; we have no idea what's out in the WYN cluster or around it. Whether the Mirak and Lyrans have died out or have become more powerful is something we need to take into account. There have been rumors spreading that the Tholians, Klingons and even Romulans are trying to find that ship as well. Due to the rise of hostilities we don't know the intentions of the Klingons and the Tholians always seem to have their own agenda about something. The Romulans you better watch out for, they are not strong militarily but that doesn't mean they won't start a war. That deep into space without any support from the Federation, you'll need all the resources at your disposal."

"Well she's a very big ship Admiral; I only hope I can live up to your expectations." Christopher said in a worried tone as he unfolded his arms and placed them behind his back.

"Yes the U.S.S Heliopolis is a big ship, twice as long as a Galaxy class ship she has a crew compliment of two thousand officers. She has two warp cores one for each of the twin warp nacelles on each side of the ship, four power cores, and her hull strength has been doubled with double the insulation and hull materials. She also has dual shielding which can be activated and interchanged at anytime. The U.S.S Heliopolis has some ablative armor and even automated point defense systems to automatically shoot down incoming projectile weapons. The ship also has twenty phaser arrays, six photon torpedo and quantum torpedo launchers; it also has four prototype raptor fast tracking missile launchers and another set of prototype gantline phasers that will fire in rapid bursts which are devastating close range but ineffective at a distance." She explained to Christopher who was listening very intently.

"Ensign you may circle us around to the docking bays and dock there," Admiral Janeway said changing the conversation for a quick second.

"Aye Ma'am" replied the ensign changed direction of the shuttle and began piloting it back around to its destination.

"This ship has three sets of hanger bays. The one is for standard runabouts and shuttles which holds eight of each. The other one is a fighter hanger which we've assigned four fighter squadrons to your ship with a fighter Captain in charge of their operations. The last hanger is for the Captain in charge. Just below the bridge, it holds a Captain's yacht and a small reconnaissance ship for scouting and intelligence gathering." The Admiral said as she continued the conversation with Christopher. "Are there any questions?"

"Actually Admiral, with all due respect I haven't even seen any of the crew rosters or crew allocation charts. I don't even know who my first officer is." Christopher answered. He was worried this was brand new crew of young cadets straight from the academy without any experience.

"Actually Captain, I'm taking you to the ship to introduce them to you. Unfortunately we haven't had time to get a roster fully prepared as work on this ship has been top priority and because of that there has been very little time spent doing any shakedown cruises but she will fly well, I guarantee it." The Admiral said apologetically. "The only problem right now that needs to be addressed is that we actually don't have a helmsmen assigned to the ship. If you don't have any objections I can get the top student from Starfleet academy right now." The Admiral inquired to Christopher. It didn't take long for Christopher to decide and I'm sure the person he was thinking of knew about it to.

"Actually Admiral, with your permission I recruit the ensign here to be my helmsmen." Christopher said patting the ensign's shoulders as he continued to navigate the ship around to the hanger bays located at the rear portion of the vessel.

"I see Captain," the Admiral replied. She looked at the ensign flying the ship and then back at Christopher.

"What is your name ensign?" The Admiral asked candidly.

"Ensign Daniel Miller sir," The ensign replied turning his chair to look at them both.

"Well then Mr. Miller, consider this a field promotion. I now promote you to lieutenant and your first assignment will be navigating the U.S.S Heliopolis under the command of Captain Christopher Innes." She spoke.

"Thank you Ma'am!" He spoke after she finished. Christopher could tell he was happy even though he kept his composure well and to be honest Christopher was happy as well.

The shuttle came up to their docking port and easing the ship into it Mr. Daniel cut the power off from the engines and just let it glide itself in. The familiar _click_ from the doors being locked in place and the familiar chirp from the computer told them that they were secure and could safely pass through.

"Now that that is settled, it's time to meet your senior officers and staff stationed on the ship." Janeway said as she straightened her uniform out and began walking to the exit door. Once passed the set of doors, Christopher and Daniel were both introduced to the big fighter deck they docked at. Two rows of fighters were lined up along the deck with their launch doors closed. All around the fighters and even on some of them engineers, pilots and repair teams were busy preparing and inspecting the ships. The three of them walked into the middle of the deck where an officer approached dressed up in fighter gear and wearing a flight helmet. He was also carrying a data pad in his right arm but switched to his left so that he could extend his arm for a hand shake.

"Welcome aboard Admiral and Captain, I'm Captain Virgil Tracey but you can just call me Virgil, and I'm commander of the four fighter squadrons on this ship." He said shaking their hands and smiling. "This is the first deck that has first squadron; the three decks below us house the rest." He explained to them pointing and gesturing to the fighters and people.

"What's your status for departure?" Admiral Janeway asked. Christopher could tell Janeway wanted to hurry up the briefing as much as possible to send this ship out right away due to the circumstances that were transpiring with the missing Universe ship.

"We're all set Admiral. The last of our supplies were transported over and we're now assembling them on the ships and storing them." He replied quickly and accurately.

"Good, we're having a senior staff meeting immediately in the conference room. If you'll follow us, we can head there immediately."

"Of course Admiral," And then turning his attention to the Captain, "Captain, I look forward to serving with you," He put in with another smile.

"As do I Virgil." Christopher replied. They then began walking out of the hanger deck and into a turbo lift that was twice as big as the standard turbo lift services onboard Starfleet vessels. The four walked in and the door shut behind them.

"Conference room" Admiral Janeway stated to the computer and immediately the turbo lift began moving horizontally following the course it was programmed to take. Christopher began following the digital map located in the turbo lift that showed the path the elevator was taking. While all Federation starships had many common characteristics in their design schemes, Christopher knew it would take awhile before he knew where to go on the ship and felt comfortable on it.

"All of your belongings have been transferred to your room Captain Innes" Janeway said. "As well everything about your mission and its parameters has been downloaded into the computer located in your ready room. A list of your crew and senior officers have already been updated and inputted. All the ships command codes have been authorized under your name and code. After this meeting, you are to depart immediately and maintain radio silence. Is that understood?" She asked.

"Perfectly Admiral" He replied. Captain Tracey gave Christopher a quick look of confusion and bewilderment but Christopher could only give him the same type of look back as he shrugged his shoulders. He knew any mission that Admiral Janeway was involved in would be more than just run of the mill and he knew this was no exception. With the most powerful ship in the fleet at his disposal and with the brightest and most fresh crew from the academy, Christopher knew something big was going to happen or was happening at this time. He only hoped that as a Starfleet officer he would be able to over come any obstacles they faced and become a good team leader and Captain. _There is something bigger going on than just a rescue mission into uncharted territory _Christopher thought to himself. The turbo lift came to a halt and the doors opened revealing a large conference room with a long rectangular table in the center. Unlike his old conference room, this one did not have any windows looking out into space, which meant that this room was located in the middle of the ship possibly for more protection. On either side of the walls were large computer panels and display screens that when turned on would provide data in a presentation style setting. In the middle of the table was a small rectangular box like instrument that Christopher knew was a small holographic projector that would act much like the display screens on the walls. Length wise along the table were ten chairs at each side and one at each end for a total of twenty two. As the four officers walked in, the persons' occupying the seats immediately stood up at attention.

"As you were," Admiral Janeway said as she strode in. Christopher took the seat close to where she was standing, Virgil opposite of Christopher and the recently promoted Lieutenant somewhere at the end.

"You are all here so that your mission can be accomplished accurately. Your Captain will get to know you and I expect full co-operation from you to him." Admiral Janeway started. "Captain Innes, meet your senior officers" She finished extending her hand in a sweeping motion to show Christopher the officers at the table. "You've already met Captain Virgil Tracey who leads the four fighter squadrons in your ship. Then next to him is your tactical officer lieutenant commander Andrew Murdock, then your Andorian science and operations officer Mr. Shranek, your new helmsmen, who you already know as well, Lieutenant Daniel Miller. Then we have your chief engineer lieutenant Samuel Corby and his assistant, your chief medical officer Sheila Thatcher and finally your new first officer; Commander Garid Drukett." She finished saying. Christopher got up from his seat and stood next to Admiral Janeway looking at the officers at the table especially his new first officer who was a Cardassian. Christopher had never served with a Cardassian before and while he knew they were a very proud and somewhat arrogant species, they were loyal enough for Christopher to trust them.

"Hello I'm Captain Christopher Innes and am in command of this starship. Our mission is to locate and bring back the U.S.S Universe warp ten ship and her crew if any have survived. We will be exploring a section of the galaxy that has not been mapped by the Federation. We will be unable to contact Starfleet and we will be close to the Cardassian, Klingon, Romulan and Gorn borders. I expect each one here to give their best and to work unitedly as a crew." Christopher spoke out to the people in the room.

"All right, now that's that settled are there any questions?" The Admiral spoke after Christopher finished. When no one raised their hands or said anything the Admiral proceeded. "This meeting is now dismissed; you may get to your designated posts and begin your mission." Then tapping her com badge; "Transporter room one, you may transport me back to the docking station." Without another word said the Admiral dematerialized in front of her officers as the transporter beam moved her molecules from her one location to the other in a matter of seconds.

"Let's begin this mission, officers dismissed." Christopher said clasping his hands together. The officers filed out of the conference room and out on the new bridge of the ship. The bridge was a more rectangular design than the standard circular one on Federation starships. It was also one and a half levels with stairs on either side extending upwards to platform. The platform had a small chair for the captain and railings along it. A turbo lift door was located behind the platform with some computer consoles on either side. Christopher walked up in front of his chair to look out below as the crews began prepping the ship for departure. Beside him to the left Captain Tracey stood with his hands on the guard rail also looking out at the crew. His chief engineer stood on the other side and the rest of the officers at their stations or returning to their duties below decks. Christopher got a quick count and realized there were fourteen officers on the bridge, a lot more than normal.

"Sir control tower has given us permission to depart; all traffic has been scheduled to give us safe clearance. Their ready when we are." An officer spoke up from her communication station.

"This is Captain Christopher Innes, all hands prepare to depart." Then turning to Lieutenant Miller, "release docking clamps, activate thrusters and set impulse at one quarter." He commanded.

"Aye sir," Replied Daniel as he set the engines for the desired speed and released the clamps holding the ship at dock. "Thruster activated and impulse powering up" He said again turning to look at his Captain.

"Thank you lieutenant, once clear you may begin activation of the warp engines." Christopher finished. He then turned back to the large view screen showing the ship moving out of the dry dock and heading towards the stars. As the ship began to move faster so did the stars and the last bit of the dry dock was pushed past the ship and behind it. Now all that stood in ships way were the endless amount of stars.

"Mr. Corby", Christopher said addressing his chief engineer, "can we achieve warp?" He asked.

"Aye sir, just give the word." He said in a humorous way.

"All right; Mr. Miller set course for warp eight."

"Course set sir, awaiting your command."

"Engage!" Christopher said pointing his finger to the screen and stars that lay beyond it. Christopher could feel a quick acceleration and then the ship burst into warp and the stars flying past at such intense speeds the light from them was all interconnected that it looked like a huge tunnel of bright white light was engulfing them.

"What's our ETA to the Romulan border?" Christopher casually asked Lieutenant Miller.

"A couple days sir," Miller replied quickly.

"What's the maximal amount of warp speed we are able to achieve without putting dangerous stress on the ship?" Christopher inquired again as he walked down the stairs leading him to the deck below and to where the helm and navigational officers sat.

"Sir I'm not too sure, I don't know anything about this ship but I would think anything between warp nine point two to nine point eight." He replied again.

"Yeah I thought so, I don't know myself either." Then thinking for a minute Christopher decided he might as well push this ship to the limit. "Lieutenant increase speed to warp nine point six five and tell me our eta now." Christopher commanded.

"Just over a day and a half sir,"

"Very well, that'll have to do for now" Christopher said as he walked back up the stairs and near his first officer and Mr. Tracey.

"Well then Captain," Virgil Tracey said with a smile on his face, "If you don't mind I'll be down at the hanger deck going over the last checks of our supplies and fighters, and then I'll be conducting some combat simulations in the holodeck in case anyone needs me." He said looking at both Christopher and his first officer.

"That's fine by me, but if you want Captain Virgil, the computer library has some data on the last known race to inhabit the WYN star clusters. Now whether they have any data pertaining to ships and flight maneuvers I don't know but that might help prep your fighter pilots." Christopher replied returning the smile.

"Thank you," Virgil said as he made his way to the turbo lift behind him. "I'll get on that as soon as I can," And with that he was gone from their midst leaving only Christopher and his first officer in command of the bridge crew.

"I'd like to speak to you in my cabin Mr. Garid Drukett for awhile," Christopher stated looking at his new first officer. The Cardassian turned to look back at Christopher and also smiled at him nodding his head briefly.

"By all means Captain," Garid responded as they both headed to the turbo lift. Once inside, Christopher told the computer to take them to his quarters located somewhere on the ship.

"It's a big ship; isn't it?" Christopher lightly said as the two rode the turbo lift.

"That it is sir; it reminds me of the Hutet class ships that used to be in the Cardassian Navy. Those were big ships that could really strike fear in your enemies." Garid responded, "No offense sir," He quickly added realizing he was talking about the long and bloody war involving the Dominion and the casualties and suffering it cost both the Alpha and Gamma quadrant powers.

"None taken, and please you can call me Christopher," He said smiling. The lift came to a stop and the doors parted revealing the deck that had the crew quarters located on them. This deck had the senior officer's quarters and the ones below had the rest.

"Have you been able to get settled into your quarters okay?" Christopher asked as they walked down the hallway passing junior officers either walking around or doing repairs and work.

"Yes I have, our rooms are quite spacious and I'm quite happy with my view. Hopefully I don't have any problems with my roommates" Christopher's first officer replied in a joking manner.

"I hope I don't cause you too much trouble," Christopher replied returning the joke. They stopped when they came to Christopher's door that led to his quarters. They both entered, Christopher first and then Garid, and walked into the living room. In front of them stood a long display/bookcase that was four shelves high; left of the book case was a bed and above it were some windows that extended from the foot of the bed to the ceiling above showing the view of space and stars at warp. To the very lift of that was small entrance way leading to the kitchen and shower unit while to the right of the bookcase was a desk with some chairs and computer stations to create an office. The carpet was a dark navy colour and the ceiling and walls were the standard metallic grey and silver colour. On the foot of Christopher's bed and on the ground beside it lay a bunch of duffel bags with his belongings in them.

"Looks like they were able to bring all my things," Christopher said as he went over to look at the bags and labels attached.

"Do you want anything to drink?" He asked looking at Garid.

"Well unfortunately for me it has been an early morning, I'll take a ractajeno if the replicator can make it." He replied stepping in further to the room.

Christopher walked over to the replicating unit and punched up the menu to search for Klingon ractajeno which was a version of Earth coffee but was made from fish guts and parts. Christopher had heard of it as it slowly became popular among Starfleet but he never bothered to try it. Once he found the menu, he programmed it into the computer and replicated an Andorian fruit drink he was meaning to try.

"Have you taken a tour of the ship?" Christopher asked as he walked back into the room carrying their glasses containing their beverages. He handed the coffee to his first officer and then sat in the chair of his desk. He motioned with his hand for Garid to take a seat in the chair across him and the desk.

"Only parts of it. It is very overwhelming to take in all at once. Starfleet has added a lot of new systems and has changed a lot of out of date ones as well. Most of the important systems I was able to see but that's about it, the other ones I just didn't get around to." He replied sipping his drink. Christopher just looked at him and then down at a data pad on the table top. He picked it up and briefly read the contents. It was his mission from Admiral Janeway and her schematics of the ship he was currently assigned too.

"What do you think of our mission sir?" He politely asked Christopher.

"I don't understand it very much. It'll take us at least eight days to reach the edge of Federation space and probably another eight to cross Romulan territory that's about two weeks of flying searching for the lost ship. That's a lot of time for a ship so important and if there are survivors they may not last long before their supplies or even power runs out. There is something not right about that." Christopher replied tossing his data pad back at the table. He then picked up his drink and took a sip of it. The Andorian fruit drank had a very tangy taste that almost tasted like mangos but not quite. It was good and Christopher was glad he found something he could try to break his coffee addiction with.

"Well sir, I do agree with you as well. There's too much at stake and those people may be in a lot of trouble and two weeks is a long time for any rescue ship to reach a disaster zone. I think there's something bigger going on sir" He replied in a matter of fact state.

"Like what?" Christopher asked politely. It was true it certainly felt that way and of course with Admiral Janeway, any mission that seemed like it couldn't possibly get interesting always did.

"Perhaps they do know the crew is dead and we're just sent for the ship. I'm not thinking anything like a military coup in Starfleet or any rogue members but they must be hiding something from us." He answered back taking another sip from his drink.

"Well top brass always have their reasons and we still need to find the ship and the Admiral did mention that the Klingons, Romulans and Cardassians could be searching for it as well. I doubt we're the first ship anybody dispatched to find it. But speaking of that, do you know what's going on with the rogue Cardassian houses causing conflict with Federation and allied Cardassian ships and convoy lanes?" Christopher inquired.

"I know just as much as you Captain. Three of our most prominent clans have decided to almost start a civil war with the remaining clans. Like you said, they've been raiding supply convoys and skirmishes with Federation and other Cardassian ships." He replied.

"It's almost as if they don't want to join the Federation and want to start another war. Neither the Federation nor the Cardassians would be able to support one of more than a year. It doesn't make any sense as to why; and to add even more complications the Klingons have also begun reorganizing g their military ships and patrols. Skirmishes have sprung up all over the sectors and Starfleet is not able to repair their ships fast enough to keep a healthy fleet active." Christopher said perplexed. He took another sip of his drink as Garid did the same. They both kept quiet for a few seconds just pondering what had been said in their conversation.

"Well Captain, I need to be back up on the bridge, my shift with the ensigns begins shortly." Garid responded as he set his half empty glass down on the table in front of him and started to get up out of the seat he was in.

"All right then Garid, the bridge is yours. I'll be taking a tour in engineering if you need me for anything." Christopher said as he to rise from his chair. Both commanders exited the quarters and went their separate ways. Christopher began wandering down the deck looking for a turbo lift that would take him to main engineering. After walking around the deck for a few minutes he finally spotted a turbo lift door at the end of a corridor. He proceeded to make his way over when a young ensign came over to get his attention.

"What can I do for you ensign?" Christopher asked politely. The ensign wore the standard Starfleet uniform to indicate that this person was in some type of command of a station or department.

"My superior officer wanted to give you this data pad sir," she replied handing Christopher the computer pad with information to look over. "Its approvals and crew allocation charts that need to be finalized." She continued. Christopher began briefly reading over it. He thanked her and then started walking over again to the turbo lift doors which had just let a trio of engineers out chatting amongst themselves as they walked past Christopher carrying various tools and scanning equipment. As he approached the doors a sudden drop in lighting occurred on the deck and Christopher thought for a moment they had suddenly lost power to their ships. Once the red glow of a light became visible and the automated wail that went with the sound, Christopher realized the ship was just put on red alert. His communicator chirped and he responded by tapping it.

"Christopher here," he announced.

"Captain you had better come up to the bridge, we're picking up hostile ships on our long range sensors." Came the voice of his first officer.

"I'm on way now, can you elaborate a bit?" Christopher asked as he got into the elevator which propelled him to the bridge.

"We're receiving a distress call from a group of Federation ships which have entered battle against a Klingon assault force. They're outnumbered three to five and have sent out an automated distress signal which we've picked up." Garid answered. "We scanned the area for any additional ships and we've picked up a dozen Vorcha class attack cruisers on an intercept course with us. They'll arrive here in approximately one hour."

"Are there any other ships in the area?" Christopher asked. This was not good for them, their mission was supposed to be almost undercover as they were to reach their objective without breaking radio silence and were to not get involved in anything due to the rush to get to the warp ten ship first. If they entered battle now it would only delay them and precious time would be lost.

"There are a few ships in the area that have answered the distress call and it looks as if a fleet of ships is forming in the Beta Virgiois system but so far there are only five ships at that location." He responded.

"The Klingons have made a major offensive push into our space. How were they able to infiltrate this far?" He asked rhetorically. This was distressing news; a dozen Klingon ships were a force to be reckoned with and the only thing protecting this sector was their ship. The rest would be no match and Christopher feared the Alpha Centuri system would not be able to scramble any reinforcements.

Christopher exited the turbo lift and stepped onto the bridge. He immediately found his first officer located at the tactical station looking at a chart of this system. Christopher walked down the metal stairs and joined him there with his tactical officer.

"Send a message to the Alpha Centuri base. Tell them what is happening and send them every piece of data we have on current ship maneuvers and locations of hostile and friendly ships. As well contact Admiral Janeway, she should still be there and patch it through to my ready room." Christopher said in a way that made his orders came out in a crisp and clear tone. He quickly made his way to his office and sat down at the desk with the computer terminal. He activated it, inputted his command codes and authorized the connection to Admiral Janeway's computer. About a minute later the screen blinked and the image of Admiral Janeway appeared on his computer.

"Captain I've received data from your ship about fleet movements, what's going on? I see Klingon ships within Federation space heading our way" She asked in a stern and direct voice.

"Admiral," Christopher said in a concerned tone, "We have a bigger problem then anticipated." And with that he explained their situation.


End file.
